Remember how the 2013 NFL season ended? The luster had completely fallen off the Broncos explosive offense and suddenly aging quarterback Peyton Manning as the young upstart Seahawks celebrated the first of what looked like potentially multiple Super Bowl championships.

Remember how the NFL season started last year? Manning threw for seven touchdowns and 462 yards as Denver trounced the Ravens and let the league know that it was ready to be an offensive power.

Final impressions tend to linger longest, and though this one is bound to temper expectations and fantasy prices, it is still impossible to not label Manning as your top fantasy quarterback heading into the 2014 season.

Remember that Manning's 55 touchdowns last season are an NFL season record, 10 percent higher than anyone else ever. In fact, when he set the record, he still had another game to play. Those 5,477 passing yards? That is also an NFL record, even if only by a yard.

It still adds up to the best season by an NFL quarterback ever, so how could you not want to own Manning this season?

It's possible that the Manning-led air barrage has helped altered our view, but it seems that the recent trend toward valuing QBs with rushing abilities has waned.

There seems to be a wide consensus that Manning, New Orleans' Drew Brees and the Packers' Aaron Rodgers make up the top three at the position, and that is mostly based on their arms.

Beyond that, it even seems widely agreed that the Lions' Matthew Stafford should be everyone's No. 4, although he does represent a step down.

I am liking the throwers so much, that I even want to spend extra time to point out that the Falcons' Matt Ryan is better than you think. Some may see Ryan as only a low-end No. 1 quarterback but his passing numbers form last season (4,515 yards, 67.4 completion percentage, 26 touchdowns, 17 interceptions) aren't that far off from Stafford's (4,650-58.5-29-19) and he didn't have receiver Julio Jones for much of the season.

Another passer who I feel presents good potential value is the Patriots' Tom Brady. Without Rob Gronkowski for much time last season, with hoped-for new best friend Danny Amendola seemingly perpetually injured and with a mass of rookies filling most other WR slots, New England still reached the AFC Championship game.

Finishing with 4,343 passing yards, 25 TDs and 11 interceptions was still far short of Brady's best years, but he is also in a situation where it seems impossible that he can't improve from last season.

Even though these quarterbacks in more pass-heavy offenses are exciting me the most this preseason, there are still enough running QBs that we have to consider them.

The Panthers' Cam Newton is at the head of this group, having rushed for 28 touchdowns in his three NFL seasons. The fact that that number has dropped each season (14-8-6), however, has tempered expectations about just how much a running QB can blow up the fantasy game.

Newton has thrown well enough to always remain relevant, but may be more of an enigma than ever before entering this season. Carolina's top four receivers from last year are gone, and left tackle Jonathan Gross has retired. His real team has to be hoping that Newton can offer enough of a veteran presence to power a new offense.

His fantasy owners have to be hoping that the Panthers' offense falls apart and Newton is forced to use his feet more than ever. Either possibility seems plausible, making Newton an intriguing mid-level No. 1 QB pick, but not one in which I would want to invest much.

A safer bet may be an emerging hybrid type. The 49ers' Colin Kaepernick (92 rushes, 524 yards, 4 TDs) and the Seahawks' Russell Wilson (96 rushes, 539 yards, TD) both ran enough to offer bonus fantasy points. However, both Kaepernick (3,197 passing yards, 21 TDs) and Wilson (3,357 passing yards, 26 TDs) also threw enough — and possibly more than we expected — to mean that we didn't have to sit back and hope for them to take off and run to make a fantasy dent.

I would much rather have a player like that than someone like the Redskins' Robert Griffin III, who has remained in our consciousness as a giant rusher, but actually did both less running (86 rushes, 489 yards) and passing (3,202 yards, 16 TDs) than both Kaepernick and Wilson.

As a potential sleeper pick, I offer the Chargers' Philip Rivers. In the first year under new coach Mike McCoy, Rivers improved his passing yard (4,478 from 3,606), touchdown (32 from 26) and interception (11 from 15) numbers from 2012. There might be enough pieces around Rivers to inspire confidence that he will keep that up, but according to ESPN, those numbers added up to more fantasy points than Stafford racked up in 2013.

To avoid any potential bust, just don't draft Johnny Manziel. He's my early pick for the guy who will be picked in every league without even having a starting job. Unless, of course, Manziel actually shows up to your draft to drink with you. Then one is obligated to pick him.

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